Budget VS Boutique

[drpietrzak]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

... If I had the cash I would own booteek amps and nice custom guitars, but again like another person said "why have facy amps and guitars if you cant play!!" (Paraphrased)
Chris

In part I would agree, but then only the best students should get an education, race drivers should buy Corvettes, etc. So I am not fully on board with this one.

 

[Iron Horse]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

What it really comes down to is....... A wrong note on a great guitar through a great amp is STILL a wrong note. It may sound really good tonally but its still wrong. For me its mor about what I play, then what I play it on and what I play it through!

That may be true...


:bling:
If you don't play jazz!

 

[Benguitar]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Mesa.

Boutique to me is a very gullible market, Basically, Any nimrod who sees that something is boutique thinks it is going to sound amazing. Therefore, It's a fast way to good tone.

I use a Mesa Road King with a Boss ME50, Dunlop Slash Wah, Boss Line Selector, Boss AC3 and MXR Distortion +

That's it..

I won't brag, But I am very happy and satisfied with my tone. And I didn't pay $4000.00 for a 20 watt 65 head, Even though Dan Boul even offered to build me a custom shop 65 for trade for my 64 Fender Bassman, I eventually declined.

Thanks to Dave Grohl, Chris Shiflett and their guitar techs, They talked me into the Road King.

"Thanks Dave!"

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Well, I was in search of a certain tone for years.

I knew the tone I was looking for came from a guy playing a Matchless DC-30, but instead of buckling down & saving for one, I went through a TON of amps, budget & boutique.

In the end, I finally stumbled upon a beauty of a DC-30, broke down & bought it.

It was THE TONE I searched for & I couldn't be happier.

So in the end, I'd say, buy what you can afford, but save for what you want. In the long run, you'll save yourself a lot of money & concern yourself more with playing !

 

[phil_104]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a boutique kinda guy. I know it's no surprise, but I enjoy finely crafted goods, with high performance levels, and I am fully willing to save up and pay a heavy premium to get some gear. Right now I am in a 2 year love affair with PRS guitar and Mesa amps. I just love being able to open a case and see an iconic guitar in front of me, and plug it into a fine amp, that produces a great sound. I will admit though, I was sold on Mesa because of reliability. None the less, I am a fan of high quality (my dad is an audiophile, and collector of high end turn tables, and vinyl records, so I was socialized that way), and I would even say I do get a thrill out of knowing that what I play is considered high grade. It makes me feel special, and makes me motivated to perform to a higher level, kinda like the philosophy that if you dress the part, it's easier to act the part.

So yeah, it's kinda shallow and ******bageresque, but I have come to terms with that. Boutique for me.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

...and I would even say I do get a thrill out of knowing that what I play is considered high grade. It makes me feel special, and makes me motivated to perform to a higher level, kinda like the philosophy that if you dress the part, it's easier to act the part.

So yeah, it's kinda shallow and ******bageresque, but I have come to terms with that. Boutique for me.

It ain't shallow, bro...it's how you play and like to be heard.

Still, this point you've made is kind of what motivates me to higher levels of performance, only on the other side of the coin...knowing my amp is considered crap by some players, and still making it sound great gives me deep satisfaction.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I kinda fell into a weird area because i always had an interest in electronics and i used to wonder if it was possible to tweak the old Vox, Fender and Marshall amps i used as a teenager in the 70s.

Decades later i found myself building, restoring and tweaking amps, pedals and guitars, for myself and for others. So now it is rare for me to buy boutique gear as i can build or modify stuff to that level. The whole journey was probably partly through inquisitiveness, and largely because i could not afford to have other people make my ideas into reality.

I did learn the hard way in my early years that if i aspired to something but could not afford it, taking the cheaper path did not bring satisfaction and of course eventually i'd end up buying the 'best' version anyway after having lost mucho $$$$ experimenting with the cheaper versions. Buy it once, get it right and then be free to play music without worrying about it.

 

[B2D]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I'd rather have one good car than all the Power Wheels in Toys R Us.

Boutique for me.

Wasn't it you who said something to the effect of "I'd rather have a few peices of awesome than a handful of meh"?

I know this thread is not a discussion of quantity, but of quality.

Personally, I love good, cheap gear when i can get it. But sooner or later i become aware of it's shortcomings and no amount of upgrades or mods fix what is at the core an average instrument.

I'm proud to own a few REALLY nice guitars at the moment and a VERY nice amp, and those few pieces satisfy in ways that cheap gear cannot. They tend to cover more bases tonally and musically as well.

Once I started buying quality over quantity, my GAS diminished on the whole. It's still there, but I don't feel it as much as I used to.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Most off the shelf stuff works very well.....
The only problem I have as time goes on, is that the modern trend is to make it so nice that it looses its edge.
So I prefer more of the middle road things, classics so to say...stuff that is not perfect and trimmed too much.

I do mod stuff, but I have the priviledge to work where parts do not cost me an arm or a leg......
And where getting knowledge is part of the job...and my mods usually takes me closer to the edge, I like to take out nice and stuff abit more nasty in there!

I prefer a more realistic approach to gear, most boutique is way to refined for my taste...I am probally way to oldschool for all that crap...haha
So I buy the old Japanse stuff, and some US classics when I can find them, as for modern stuff I like the Hardwire pedals....
But I guess I am into neither too cheap nor too expensive...just something that is proven and can get you interesting places if you want!

 

[sbecker67]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I hope those of you who commented that a person's gear should be commenserate with their ability were being half-hearted. That's just silly, probably childish, most likely envious and definately arrogant to believe so.

I'm a lousy cook. Did I buy cheap pots and pans that cook food unevenly and that even water will stick to, enhancing my inability? No, I bought quality (expensive) cookware that will not hamper or interfere with my ability to cook and allow me develop skills without the interference of inefficient tools.

It's our nature to want the best, in all things, for ourselves. What we end up with is usually a compromise between what we want versus what we actually need and what we can afford and gear is no different.

I have both budget and boutique gear. I have budget gear because I'm practical, because I'm a whore and because I'm a hoarder. I have boutique gear because I like quality, because I value the performance and craftsmanship and because I've reached a point in life where I can afford to satisfy a few selfish desires. My boutique gear doesnt make me play better but it doesn't prevent me from doing so either.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I get a massive kick from using older gear, and then to see how the booteek and up-to-date modern gear guys come walking over and can not believe what they just heard from 60's, and early90's gear. (Fenders & Laney Pro Tube amps).

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I guess I'm finding more and more that I'm just after a certain tone, and if it takes a $3,000 guitar into a $99 amp to get that sound, so be it. I bought a lot of pedals based on hype, but I'm now experimenting and simplifying.

Guess I need the Rob option for this poll.

- Keith

 

[AudioWonderland]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

My amps are old Fenders and Marshalls that I found cheap in various states of disrepair. Not really boutique but they are the inspiration of most boutique stuff

 

[blues]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

A little of both,

http://www.lovepedal.com/pedals/plexi.html

tele with budz single coil pup, pedal, older fender pro jr.

pedal and amp about 500 bucks together, pups 180 bucks for the set

not affiliated with anything above

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Custom guitars and well made amps is the thing I am after.
I find the 5150 better than many amps, but so do I Think that Diezel buildsthe amps that suit me most.

Bootique companies are the guys who really give more attention to detail, try sometimes different ways to get a different edge, use better components and try to be more versatile and customer friendly.
Bigger companies already forgot to make customers happy. They just make Sam Ash or GC happy.

It's not like I would buy only bootique stuff, but I prefer it to get better value, better customer service, better resale value, and most of all, better reliability.

 

[Sanford]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I voted "budget" because I'm an upper lower-class working stiff who lives from one paycheck to the next. My answer will change to "boutique" if I ever get decent credit or expendable income.

 

[TheProphet]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

No Rob Option?

Seriously I vote by amp ... and I prefer the well made option ... which is usually between Budget (AKA Cheap) and Boutique (Expensive and generally proucing tones that I like for noodling but not good for playing the type of music I write)

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

No Rob Option?

Why would there be? These guys are electric guitar players, and as such, they need amps.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Why would there be? These guys are electric guitar players, and as such, they need amps.

?

Because Rob should always be an option?

 

[GoDrex]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I've never had any real expensive and great gear. I can't really justify it. I built a guitar I really wanted and that was the most I've spent on anything. I lust after some great amps, but I really can't afford it and I don't gig so I don't really need the high ticket stuff. I actually have 3 relatively inexpensive amp rigs (one of which is a sort of budget/boutique deal http://www.myspace.com/hawkinsamps) that all sound really different from each other and I'm really happy right now with all of them.